Tuesday, August 10, 2010

American Fork Wal-Mart Grand Re-opening TOMORROW MORNING (8/11)!

Freebies2Deals posted that tomorrow (8/11/10) from 7:30am-noon will be the Grand Re-opening of the American Fork Walmart-there are a lot of fun free things going on there includign free hot dogs and soda as well as free samples (which usually means coupons). Our Grand Re-opening of the Walmart here in Omaha had TONS of crazy deals so I would go check it out in the morning if you live near American FOrk (Utah). Please see the full list of activities on the Freebies2Deals post here.

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Tuesday Travels...I REALLY need reader input/help...please...pretty please...

I told you last week that my husband is a resident and is currently applying for a fellowship. I have decided that a great way for me to learn about each place we are considering for our home in 2 years is to use each location as a Tuesdays Travels location week to week (some are already done). So, here is the list of places:
  • Salt Lake City, Utah (done)
  • Scottsdale, AZ (basically Phoenix)
  • Omaha, NE
  • Denver, CO (done)
  • Seattle, WA
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • San Antonio, TX
  • St Louis, MO
  • Pennsylvania, PA
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Iowa City, IA
  • and the newly added Rochester, MN
However, I realized that with the exceptions of Salt Lake, Denver, and Omaha, I know next to NOTHING about these places, so I am asking, nee begging for anything you can tell me about the places on this list.  What are the major attractions of these places? Where do I walt to visit while I am there? What are the best family places there?  What is your favorite thing about the city listed?  Really ANYthing you can tell me would be appreciated!!

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City Deals Hot and New: Madeline's Stake House & MacCool's

Citydeals.com has a couple "Hot New Deals" going on right now that I really like and must tell you about! Right now you can get a $30 gift certificate for Madeline's Steakhouse for only $15.00!!! Check out that deal here. The other deal is a $30 gift certificate for MacCool's for only $13.00. Check that out here. Check them out soon before they are gone!!

If you do buy something from City Deals, please sign up using my referral link! I would REALLY appreciate it!

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Repost: Tuesdays Travels Denver

Tuesdays Travels today will focus on a place I used to live as a teenager: Denver, Colorado. My dad attended Law School at DU for 3 years, so I lived in Denver (ok actually Aurora) Colorado from 6-8 grades. So, much of my Denver knowledge is from a young teendaged point of view. I do not want to tell you to just go hang out at Cherry Hills Mall, so I did some research on this one!!

As always, I will use the following categories for this Denver post as part of my Tuesdays Travels series:

  • General Information
  • Getting there
  • Accommodations
  • Transportation
  • Food
  • Attractions and activities
  • Shopping
General Information

Denver is the capitol city of Colorado and is located right by the beautiful Rocky Mountains! Nicknamed the Mile High City due to it's elevation, it is a beautiful city with a variety of food and fun options! It is where I lived when I fell in love with the theatre, so it has a special place in my heart!

Getting There

Denver is fairly centrally located in the west, so driving to Denver is certainly an option to consider. If you live in Omaha, it is a pretty quick drive for a vacation-only about 7-8 hours.

You may also look into flying. You should be able to get good deals into Denver as it has the largest airport in the country and has 6 airlines that go to/through Denver. It is a hub for United Airlines and Frontier Airlines. I recommend reading my Tuesdays Travels: Overview post for info on how I search for best flight prices and options.

Accommodations

When I have visited Denver in the past, I have always had friends or family to sty with. I don't anymore, so when I go back to Denver, I will simply do what I always do and start by looking up hotel deals on the following websites: Expedia, Hotwire, Travelocity, and Cheap Tickets. You could also try to make an offer at Priceline, but I only try one offer there, then if I do not get it, I go somewhere else that works with me better than they do.

Transportation

I will tell you that the airport is pretty far outside the city, but luckily there are many options for travel between the airport and the city. You can of course rent a car, but there are other options as well. Many hotels have shuttles between the airport and their hotel. There is also public transportation available, and you can probably walk to some of the places you want to go depending on the location of your hotel. The city of Denver has a great website on which there is an excellent page about transportation options in town. Please see that page here.

Food

The main 2 food experiences (away from my house) I remember from living in Denver were both fairly expensive, but were both not just meals, but full experiences: Casa Bonita and Mataam Fez.

Mataam Fez is a Moroccan restaurant complete with sitting on the floor and belly dancers. It is a lot of fun, but as I mentioned it is fairly expensive and it is not is a great neighborhood. In fact it is in a terrible neighborhood, but well worth the experience-just be careful going from your car inside to the restaurant!

Casa Bonita is a must do for any families visiting Denver. It is every child's dream dinner. They are the self proclaimed "World's Most Exciting Restaurant". The multi-story, Mexican-themed restaurant includes a 30-foot-tall waterfall, cliff divers, fire jugglers, strolling mariachi bands, a pirate cave, magicians, puppet shows, skee-ball machines, etc, etc. Be warned though-you are not going here for the food! It is terrible-well all is terrible except the all you can eat sopapilla desserts. But, you have to purchase an entree to enter, so buy something cheap and be warned it will not be good food. Then plan on watching the cliff divers, enjoying all the entertainment, and eating a lot of the sopapillas-they are heavenly! It is the only truly edible thing in the joint in my opinion.

I actually have read multiple reviews today that recommended eating at Taco Bell on your way over to Casa Bonita, then looking at your required entree purchase more as an admission fee. If you are looking for a uniquely Denver "dining" experience though, do NOT miss Casa Bonita!! (I have to refer you to the funniest and possibly most accurate review I have ever read about this place, but with a warning that there is some poor language involved in the review. See it here.)

In my 3 years of living in Denver, those were by far the most memorable dicing experiences I had, so I recommend trying one or both of these great experience places!

As far as being frugal in Denver, I would try to get a hotel with a kitchen area and stop by your local Walmart or King Soopers and get some food to eat in your hotel!

Also, when you are planning to go to Denver, start checking out City Deal Tracker's Denver site daily to see what deals you can snag there. They list Groupon as well as 2 other Groupon-like daily deals. (As a total side note, if you do join and buy a Groupon, I would really appreciate if you do so under my referral link here.)

One more site to check out is MyDenverDeals.com.

Attractions and Activities

Here are a few lists of things to do from me (there is way more to do that I am listing!):

Choose from these "Must see/do" for first timers
How to get discounts on some on the attractions that cost:
  • Also, when you are planning to go to Denver, start checking out City Deal Tracker's Denver site daily to see what deals you can snag there. They list Groupon as well as 2 other Groupon-like daily deals. (As a total side note, if you do join and buy a Groupon, I would really appreciate if you do so under my referral link here.)
  • Look for discounts online
  • Look in the travel books
  • Ask at the hotel for discounted deals-they often have discounts available if you ask.
  • Ask locals when you get there!
  • Check out MyDenverDeals.com.
Free Attractions (My FAVORITE!!)
There are literally thousands to choose from. Since I have no clue what you will be interested in, can I recommend that you check out a travel guide (you can often find these at local libraries), go through it and pick the things you really want to do.

And Remember, you cannot so it all! Pick your favorites, then start looking for discounts.

Shopping

Check out some of the following fun and interesting shopping destinations:
  • The teenager in my wants to send you to Cherry Creek Mall and tell you to scout out the boys...  :)
  • Tattered Cover Bookstore is SOOO Denver and a must see for book lovers!
  • 16th St Mall

Conclusion

These are just the things I have learned in my Denver travel/living and research and my opinions on traveling to Denver. I am not the definitive Denver expert by any means. Please feel free to add your own tips and tricks to this and feel free to ask me any questions you might have.
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FREE sample of Underway & Smart for Life

You can get a free sample of underWAY™ Beverage and Smart for Life® Chocolate Chip Cookie if you just click here and fill out the form! NICE!

Thanks Mojo Savings.

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Jamba Juice accepting McDonald's coupons (+ $1 off coupon available online)

If you live near a Jamba Juice, this is a great deal!! Jamba Juice has announced that they will accept all McDonald's smoothies coupons-even the free ones (in select areas). Please read what Jamba Juice, has to say about it here. If you click on that link you will also be able to print out a $1 off coupon for Jamba Juice if you don't have any McDonald's coupons.

The areas that will accept the FREE coupon are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, New York, Denver or Miami.


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DELTA SKY CLUB deal (available at 50 locations worldwide)!!! + bonus Salt Lake deal at Tracy Aviary


Today's Salt Lake City Groupon is $22 for a One-Visit Pass to Delta Sky Club ($50 Value). This is available for use at 50 locations worldwide!

Also, in Salt Lake, if you missed yesterday's Tracy Aviary deal, they are extending that another day! So, today you can still get $8 for Admission for Two and Two Tickets to Avian Encounters at Tracy Aviary (Up to $16 Value). Check that out here.

As with all the deals, make sure you check out the fine print before purchasing. To sign up for Groupons, click on my referral link here (this does NOT commit you to buying any deal-you choose what you buy) and to see the Salt Lake City page, including today's deal, click here.

Not sure what Groupons is? Then click here to read all about it!

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Omaha Daily Deals 8/10: BounceU, Sakura Bana Sushi, Corpuz Family Dentisrty

Here are all the TODAY ONLY Group Deals in Omaha that I know of.


Today's Omaha Groupon is $15 for Five Unlimited Open Bounces at BounceU in La Vista (Up to $30 Value).

As with all the deals, make sure you check out the fine print before purchasing. To sign up for Groupons, click on my referral link here (this does NOT commit you to buying any deal-you choose what you buy) and to see the Omaha page, including today's deal, click here.
Today's Deal at Living Social Deals is $15 for $30 to Spend on Food and Drink at Sakura Bana (a value of $4,662). If you are interested in this or future deals, please use my referral link here to sign up now for their emails.
Today's Deal at DailyDealOmaha.com is a $59 for Exam, Cleaning, Digital X-Rays, and Cosmetic Consultation at Corpuz Family Dentistry. To see or puchase that deal, please click on my referral here.

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